Kankuro's Nightmare Mission
by Ciotog
Summary: Kankuro is assigned a mission by Gaara that scares Kankuro to death. Still he has to do it. T just in case.


Kankuro's Nightmare Mission

Kankuro's Nightmare Mission.

By Ciotog

Kankuro stared across the table at his little brother. Gaara met his stare with a very amused smirk. Kankuro wanted to reach over and smack him but was stopped by two things. One, Gaara was now head of the village. And two, Gaara could easily kill Kankuro with a quick hand motion. Why would Gaara do this to him? He and Gaara hadn't always been close, but they had a very strong brotherly bond now. Slowly Kankuro opened his mouth.

''Your joking, right?''

Gaara's smirk became a grin. ''Do I ever joke?''

''Of cour…'' Kankuro stopped mid sentence. Now that he thought about it, he never had seen Gaara make a joke. Or laugh at a joke. Or even smile at anything other than someone's pain. He changed his sentence. ''You knew I would hate this mission. Why did you give it to me?''

Gaara's grin disappeared. ''Do you remember when we were little and our servant made us each a special cookie?''

''…Yeah…''

''And do you remember how you STOLE my cookie? How you just walked over and took MY chocolate chip cookie and ATE it right in front of me?'' Gaara's voice was a mix of pain and rage.

''…Yes…''

''This is payback.''

''For a cookie!?''

Gaara turned his chair around. ''You have your mission. Go and complete it. If you don't you will be executed for disobedience.''

Kankuro whirled around and headed for the door. Holding his hands in tight fists he resisted the urge to punch the wall. Kankuro settled for slamming the door. The resounding thud did nothing to ease his mind. This mission was going to be hell!

* * *

Kankuro struggled through the storm, barely managing to keep from being blown away. In his hurry to get the mission over with he had left the village right before a sand storm hit. Smooth. For the thousandth time he got some sand in his eye. Screaming in frustration he tried to dig the particle out, but only managed to poke himself in the eye. After cursing for a few minutes he managed to get out the sand speck. Glancing up he saw some rocks nearby. Finally, some shelter. He raced over to the rocks. He hurled his stuff into a small cave and dove in after it. Of course the cave was dark and he managed to land on what felt like a cactus. Grumbling he felt through his bags for a match. Mentally he checked off every item he felt. Paper bomb, face paint, underwear… Then with a grunt he withdrew his hand and began to suck his now bleeding finger. And knife. After his finger stopped bleeding he resumed his search. A few moments later he found a match and lit it.

A quick glance of his surroundings showed that the cave was dry and empty of any other creatures. To Kankuro's relief he saw he had landed on some sharp rocks and not a cactus. With a groan he blew out the match and went to sleep.

* * *

At noon the next day Kankuro staggered through the forest. As he neared a clearing he stopped and checked his map. Yup. The village in the clearing ahead was the site of his mission objective. When he stepped into the village a shudder ran through the very depths of his soul. The sight greeting his eyes could only be described as Kankuro's own personal hell.

The entire village was decked out in bright colors with balloons and streamers everywhere. In the center of the village was a large stack of presents and a large cake. Piñatas, pin the tail on the donkey, even a pony ride they were all present. And worst of all…

''Kids.'' Kankuro said as despair overwhelmed him.

There were kids everywhere. Running around, crying, screaming, and playing. It seemed that every surface was covered in the snot nosed, little brats. It was a birthday party for the village chief's daughter. And Kankuro's mission was to provide the entertainment. As soon as one kid spotted him, he was swarmed by the little monsters. They clung to his arms and legs. They ran around him, all the while yelling and screaming. One had leapt onto his back and was now screaming ''Clown, clown. It's a clown!'' into his ear. Kankuro snapped.

''I'm not a stupid clown!!''

For a moment there was dead silence as all the kids stared at him. Finally the same little boy on his back spoke up. ''Why are you wearing face paint then?''

Kankuro avoided peeling the kid off his back and hurling him into a building. Barely.

''If you little br…guys will get off of me I will explain.''

One by one the kids untangled themselves and sat around Kankuro. The rest of the children came over followed by a few parents. They all stared at Kankuro.

''Now, I have come all the way from the Sand Village to put on a puppet show.''

There was a mix of groans and cheers from the kids. Kankuro quickly got out Crow and prepared to start. Then he realized he had no idea what to do. What did kids like? When he, Gaara, and Temari were little they all liked bloodshed. Of course the sand siblings had not been normal kids in any sense of the word. Still, not knowing what else to do he asked one of the adults to throw some apples into the air. Quick as a flash Crow hurled some knives and neatly sliced them. The kids went wild. This could work.

Kankuro spent the next hour demonstrating every one of Crow's weapons and abilities. The kids were having a ball and Kankuro enjoyed showing. When he had finished performing the kids went wild. He was once again buried in a wave kids. Each one wanting to question him or touch Crow. It was all Kankuro could do to keep some kid from impaling themselves. Finally an adult came to the rescue and announced cake was being served. Kankuro quickly packed up Crow and prepared to leave. He turned around and almost tripped over a little girl. It was the birthday girl.

She smiled at him and held up a small yellow flower. ''Thank you mister, for the show.'' Stunned Kankuro bent down and took the flower. The girl immediately gave him a hug and a kiss on the cheek. She then skipped off to the table for some cake.

Kankuro stared at the flower and then at the kids. Perhaps he could stay a bit longer…

* * *

Kankuro strolled into Gaara's office. Gaara smirked at him.

''How was the mission?''

''It was… horrible. You know I hate kids.'' With that Kankuro left the office while Gaara's laughter echoed behind him.

When Kankuro got home he tossed his stuff in the floor. He pulled out the yellow flower and stared at it. Slowly a smile filled his face. He got a book from his shelf and put the flower in it.

''Once it's pressed,'' he thought, ''I'll have to find a frame for it.''


End file.
